What really needs to be done
by RussianBlond
Summary: Women play a bigger role in this alternate ending to What is to be done?


I.

About three hours after Kirsanov left, Vera Pavlovna came to her senses; one of her first thoughts was that her workshop could not be abandoned. Vera tried to tell herself before that it is really the cooperative effort of all the girls which made the workshop work so well. Today, she felt that she was merely fooling herself. These girls did not have the proper education in business which could enable them to run the workshop without her oversight. Then Vera realized that even she would not have been able to start anything without the help of Lopukhov. She missed his presence terribly knowing that he will never be seen again. Dimitry was her strength and guiding light in the face of all obstacles that a woman could possibly face. Vera was convinced that there couldn't be a single person on the face of this earth who could sustain so much goodness in another person. Moreover, she still could not believe how a person who had always followed the egoist rules of the game decided to kill himself. Was it really to his advantage? Perhaps it was. Why should he have to live in the presence of her happiness with his best friend? That is the cruelest fate that anyone could ever endure.

Vera was overwhelmed with other thoughts in great detail. How could life disappear in a blink of an eye? More importantly, how could she not see this coming? Perennial thoughts plagued her insides as if worms ate her gut slowly. At the present moment, Masha came in to ask Vera if she wanted any tea. Vera could not even think of any kind of nourishment at a time like this. She had to get out of the house. Their living area was engulfed with the memories of her late husband. It was as if she was being smothered with the past just by sitting in her own home.

II.

The night sky was clear. Stars twinkled in the night time air illuminating her path over Vasilievsky Prospect. She was a lonely woman walking through the streets without a man to escort her. The coldness made her neck as stiff as a metal pole, although she felt no physical pain, only emotional exhaust. Her future seemed as uncertain as these nighttime streets leading her into a dark path. The walk took her through rundown streets that resembled something of a long dark winding hole. Along the way she saw a woman pushed out of a tavern with the door locked on her. The abused young woman screamed for help since she was practically half-naked. People on the street only turned their heads away in disgust. The poor girl was mocked by the men inside through a window. This is a cruel fate that no one should ever endure. Her tiny yelps only exacerbated her tears. The outside coldness made her cheeks redder than her nose. Vera saw this and covered herself snuggly. The young woman turned her desperation towards Vera and ran to her yelling "Wait, please help me." Vera at first tried to reframe but was stopped by something inside.

"Please help me, I cannot reenter the tavern those awful men looked me out for good, not even giving me a chance to get my overcoat," explained the distraught young woman.

Vera immediately took her overcoat off and gave it to the woman. There was not much else that Vera could do. She felt no cold air, so giving up the overcoat was second

nature. The young woman accepted it with everlasting gratefulness.

The giving away of the overcoat is reminiscent of "The Overcoat" written by Anton Gogel.

"Dear Madame thanks so much. I cannot believe this." May I please repay you when I do get back into that tavern? Please give me your address, I must give this overcoat back," cried the woman.

"There will be no need. Tell me, do you work there?"

"Yes, but today I was fired as you just saw. All I did was defend my dignity against a very popular patron. It was his word against mine. Why should they believe me?"

"Why would you say that?"

"Because that is what they tell me, besides, I have t wretched existance."

"You are a human being, a woman at that. Please I beseech you to take something into consideration. Come to this address tomorrow. Do you have a place to stay right now?"

"I have a friend that lives up the block, I know her well. She can take me in."

"Good. Rest up. I would like to show you something if I may. It is a different way of living."

"What ever do you mean? You can get me job?"

"I am able to work something out. Please come, it will be to your advantage."

With those words, the young woman tried to kiss Vera's hand. Vera begged the young woman not to. It was something that Vera despised. She did not feel that this woman should lower herself before anyone, just as Vera tries not to do. The two women parted. By now Vera felt the cold. It wrapped around her like a cold wet heavy blanket. She could not get away from it so she ran. She ran as fast as she could, or at least as well as her skirt could take her back to Vasilievsky Prospect.

III.

Upon her arrival back at the house, Masha greeted her with a thousand questions.

"Madame, where have you been and where is your overcoat?"

"Please Masha, do not bombard me with your questions. I gave my overcoat to someone that really needed it. I can assure you that I feel much better, in fact I would be almost cured if you set up some tea."

At that request, Masha galloped into the kitchen and prepared the samovar. Vera sat down on the living room divan and tried to warm her hands together. It would be a short while before her fluids could be replenished, although somehow Vera felt energized. Why, she managed to run all the way home! When she looked around, she saw that life was good to her. The room was even decorated in some of the latest fashions of the day. She could not ask for anything else. With that thought, her husband's departure started to settle in. Then she thought that perhaps she was a little too abrupt with Kirsanov when she ran out on him. Her last words to him were that she might come back to him if she needed financial help. She could not believe that those were their parting terms. What financial help? She could do it alone even on her own terms. The workshop was a booming success and there were new girls recruited practically every week. There can even be a chance to set up shop on Nevsky Prospect.

She could not stay relying on another person. She relied too heavily on Lopukhov emotionally and now he let her down by deserting everyone in life. What was the point? Self-reliance must prevail. There are few people to trust in this world ruled by men. By the time her thoughts were in the deepest hour, Masha reentered with the tea. Vera propped herself up to prepare for the nourishment that filled her entire body. The most soothing sensation came out as she sipped that tea. Vera ordered Mash to join her. The two women sat in silence at first as Vera enjoyed the tea. Masha thought it was quite odd of her mistress to be self indulging herself. Her husband just died. Masha was a part of the old generation that relied on heavy traditions. She thought it was imperative for

Vera to behave modestly out of respect for her husband's death.

"Tea is good?" asked Masha looking at her mistress intently.

"It is perfect, thank you. I must say my walk and run sure did tire me out. I think I will be retiring for the night in my room. I must not keep you Masha. If you have other things to do, please feel free to attend to them. I do not want to hold you back. Oh also, please do not wake me up in the morning. I will be needed plenty of sleep tonight. I have a lot of work in the morning. First off, I must see to it that the workshop is going well. It has been a while since I checked on it."

With those orders Masha got up to leave. Vera slowly finished up her tea. That night she crawled into her own bed covered with her own luxurious sheets that smelled of soft soap from the time that Masha washed them. Earlier that night, Vera would have imagined that her nights after Lopukhov's death would be sleepless. The events of that day were so surreal that Vera did not imagine that she would fall asleep within 7 minutes.

IV.

Oh my perspicacious reader, you must be thinking that this has been a long day of events. How rare they are? Our esteemed Lopukhov committed suicide in the worst way. Well let me tell you that they found his body after 7 days. That is how long it took them

This is a reference to Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour", when Mrs. Mallard is informed that her husband has been killed in a train accident, she does not experience the normal grief.

Vera senses that sleep is necessary for the battle ahead.

to find this scoundrel. He lived a life of servitude to his loved one because he sacrificed his career for Vera. As a consequence, his fate was destined to be this way. There is no hope for a man like that. In fact, I am sure that you will never come across a man such as Lopukhov. He is a part of the distinguished new order. It can take men generations before they can even come close to a man like Lopukhov. Kirsanov is aware of this, and he will not continue relations with Vera. He is so stunned by this turn of events that he himself goes into hiding. Other people started talk that he was the one to blame for his friend's suicide. Kirsanov will also come to accept this. There is no way that these feelings will ever escape him. He is also a malleable character, despite his previous strong disposition. You will come to see that hard times turn men into soft pieces of bread. Some never recover; men are a weaker sort than women. It is the women that are more resilient when hard times strain their backs. Just look at the way our sisters bear children and support the whole family with their intensive labor of love. Imagine what they can accomplish if given the chance to attend to scholarly efforts.

**Vera's Fourth and Final Dream**

She transcends into the darkness. Her first path is illuminated slightly by a flickering light at the end. She follows it, but she must first go through dirt and muck. The walls are covered with the slimiest residue and at certain points she sees snakes. They do not harm her because she follows the light without stopping. Vera feels her legs getting heavy, and she wants to sit. However, there is something inside emotionally that makes her push forward. Still, there are passing thoughts that there is someone who wants

Dream sequence in the grammatical present tense to emphasize what women should be doing at the present moment.

to attack her.

Vera's tiresome tread through the cave draws to an end as she slowly feels lightness. Her legs get their sensation back, and her pace is picked up. Now she runs as fast as she can. She slips at one point but gets up and rubs the dirt off her face. There is

no sensation stirred with her fall because it is inevitable, the ground is so slippery with mud. Finally, her struggle is realized, she reaches the end of the tunnel. She comes out into a large green flowery field designed by the heavens. Other young women are seen playing and skipping in a circle. Vera approaches them.

"Who are you?"

"We are all sisters. Did you crawl through that cave? We can see that you are very dirty."

Vera looked at her hands and they were covered in mud, but it was drying up in the sun. "It is nothing, I came here because there is so much light here. I was in the worst situation back there. So many things were holding me back from crawling through, but I did it."

"Are you happy now?"

"Yes I feel good. Anyone can get through there as long as they do not give up."

One of the young maidens comes over to Vera and hands her a white loose dress. "Put it on, you will feel better; I know it is your size because it is not too tight."

"Thank you," replies Vera. She puts it on at once. All of the sudden the dirt disappears.

"Oh my god, I am clean."

"Here everything is clean, there is no dirt present except in that tunnel that you emerged from. Please come with us, we will take you to our mistress. She is the kindest woman of all. She will help you set up your life here."

"Really? That would be most kind of you. Tell me more about your mistress. Is she the leader of this place?"

"She is the fairest and kindest woman of us all, but she did not use to be that way. She grew up in humble beginnings and so we elected to have her be our overseer. We all work together to make sure that our home here is always this clean and fun. She makes it possible by reminding others to do their duty to the common good. If she does not do her job well, then we can replace her peacefully."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, our life here is sustained by reverse dominancy. The people here work collectively to sustain a beautiful life here. You can never be too sure of people, so if someone socially transgresses, we help them to see the light again. It took a lot of work to make this society work. People had to form coalitions that would topple despotism. That is why our leader is from humble beginnings."

The women approach a giant olive tree that reflects a silvery color in the wind. Vera sees that there is a fair young maiden attending to the plants surrounding the tree. The Gardneress looks up and sees the others.

"Hello girls, I see that you are on your break from work. The weather is beautiful today so it is a wonderful thing to take a break from work and enjoy life for a bit."

"You girls are working now?" asks Vera with a surprise. These girls did not look like they had done a single day of work their entire lives.

"Why yes, Natasha here is one of our best historians, and Sveta oversees the school nearby. We all have to work to make a living. Additionally we pride ourselves on being the most productive and healthy society because we believe in a balance between work, family life and relaxing," replies the Gardneress.

"How does one get a job?"

"Through education, of course. First everyone must apprentice with their chosen field of work. You see even the men attend work with the women. Everyone gets treated the same way in the work selection process. As long as you have skills as well as a willingness to work then you will have a place in society. Sometimes people falter, and we send them back into the tunnel to make them realize how hard they must climb to be with us."

This all seems second nature to Vera. Why would it be otherwise? "Can you please direct me to the place where I may apprentice with a doctor? I have always wanted to be a doctor. I would be a good one because I have an unusual amount of empathy for others in need. I want to make a difference." Vera says this all very casually. The young maidens point her in the direction of the nearest hospital.

"Go there and ask for Madame Karenina. She will sign you up for the learning course. She is a wise woman when it comes to saving lives. She has quite a personality though; she is a deeply passionate woman who may overwhelm you at first with information. Please heed her advice and you will be on your way to becoming a doctor."

Vera obeys and starts her path through the field. She walks towards a building

This is a reference to Leo Tolstoy's main character in Anna Karenina who commits suicide when she sees no other option in life.

that resembled more of a Church than a hospital.

**Dénouement**

Vera awoke, but she found herself in her room with the window wide open. The air coming in was cool and not cold at all. The clouds dissipated as the sun pushed its way into the blue sky. It was strange to encounter such weather in the dead of winter in St. Petersburg. Even so Vera got dressed. Suddenly, she remembered that there was no Lopukhov to make her the tea that he would so often make in the mornings for her. She did not mind. Vera rushed downstairs to greet Masha, but instead she got confronted with a cold stir of agitation as Masha rushed up to her mistress.

"Vera Pavlovna, these men will not leave us alone, they have stormed the house and they are ordering us to exit with them to the police station. They will not tell me what the matter is. Do you know what could possibly be the cause of this scene?"

Vera was overcome with fear that struck her heart deeply than the previous news of her husband's suicide. At that moment, one of the police officers came up to Vera and asked:

"Are you Vera Pavlova Lopukhov?"

"Yes I am. What is the matter?"

"We are ordered by the decree of the Royal Czar to take you into custody for the suspicion of revolutionary dealings. You see, the police have been surveying your workshop and it seems that it is not to the standards of the local custom to hold such a work environment. We are condemning you for the illegal practice of setting up a cooperative workplace without the permission of the Department of Labor. In these times, we have many underground organizations that plan to corrupt the government. Your workshop falls into that sort of organization. First of all, you are taking in prostitutes and other former degenerates into a working environment along with other decent women. This cannot go on. Your private enterprise needs to be curtailed."

"I do not understand. I was just trying to create a work environment that would be

conducive to the needs of the everyday woman. How could this possibly be connected with revolutionary dealings against the government?" begged Vera.

"That is not for us to answer. Please come with us this minute."

Vera surrendered herself and left with the two men. What else could she do?

_Revolutsia_.


End file.
